Superstar Ken Lashley Spotlights Heroes Of The Galaxy In Marvel’s ‘Star Wars’ Black History Month Variants

Marvel’s tradition of spotlighting the Star Wars universe’s greatest black heroes continues in 2024. This time, superstar artist Ken Lashley is creating the entire series, featuring some of the most notable heroes in the galaxy.

Across five different covers, Lashley has created pieces that highlights characters from all different eras and media in the Star Wars universe. The characters featured this year include:

·       Mace Windu, revered Jedi and member of the Jedi High Council known for his epic feats throughout the prequel trilogy. Mace’s cover will be featured on the debut issue of his new solo limited series. Also launching in February, the series will be written by Marc Bernardin and drawn by Georges Jeanty and will reveal a dangerous mission Mace undertook before his introduction in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.

·       Adi Gallia, another respected Jedi Master who sat beside Mace on the High Council. Adi’s fierce battles on the frontlines of the Clone Wars have been depicted in various video games, comic books, and television series.

·       Kawlan Roken, brave leader of an underground network dedicated to helping surviving Jedi during the rule of the Galactic Empire. Roken debuted in last year’s Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney+ where he helped Obi-Wan on his quest to rescue Princess Leia and this marks his first ever cover appearance.

·       Bell Zettifar, a young Jedi during the High Republic era. Zettifar’s journey with the Force from apprentice to full Jedi Knight has been told across Star Wars’ High Republic publishing including novels and Marvel’s own High Republic comic series.

·       And Captain Panaka, loyal protector of Queen Amidala. Captain Panaka is remembered for his dedication to the Queen during the Trade Federation invasion of Naboo, as seen in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.

“I’ve worked with and known Ken for a long time,” Editor Mark Paniccia shared. “He’s one of the best comic book artists in the industry and one of my favorite cover artists. He brings energy and dynamism to every cover and this variant program is no exception. I’m excited for fans to see these characters illustrated in Ken’s powerful style.”

“l am a huge Star Wars fan so when Mark asked if l would be interested in drawing these covers, it was a fast ‘HECK Yeah,’” Lashley added. “These five covers have all the bases covered, characters we all love and know along with a few surprises for the fans. l love what I do and getting to draw every day on creations that l loved growing up is a dream come true… Purple lightsabers are all over my office–haha.”

Check out all five covers now, and watch for them at your local comic shop in February 2024!